It Dies Tonight
by Creative Dummy
Summary: The death of friendship. Like a star going out in the sky. A blackout in a city that thrives on light. A welcoming party for the void. Nicky and Kelly. It dies tonight. :Companion piece to Life, Love and Denim:


**Title: **It Dies Tonight

**Disclaimer: **We (Love's Crash Test Dummy & Creatively Licensed B) own nothing at all. _At all._ Well, actually, we do own Faith Giancana and proud of it.

**Spoiler: **Up to chapter 24 of _Life, Love and Denim _(the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants MIOBI-style story). If you haven't read it, you might want to check that out for this to make sense.

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**It Dies Tonight **

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There's nothing more tranquil than sitting at the top of Lookout Mountain in Golden, overlooking the city of Denver just at dusk. Windows and streetlights and cars provide such a brilliant collection of miniscule lights that come together to form a whole. Even as dark threatens to consume the city, those lights remain strong. The sun peaks out from just behind the mountains beyond the cluster of buildings and the sky looks to be on fire – a mix of violent reds, bold yellows and hazy oranges in between.

Nicky leans against the front of his car, looking out over the city. His arms are at his sides and his fingers are splayed across the cold, metal hood behind him. There's light murmuring sounds, maybe even snoring, coming from the car, but that's the only thing he hears besides the whispers of the wind and the way his heart beats loud in his ears. His damn nerves have his blood pumping faster than it should.

The air is thin at such an elevation, but that isn't why it's so hard to breathe.

Without moving, not even marginally, keeping his face towards the nightscape, Nicky glances to his right. There's Kelly perched on the hood of the car, staring out at the buildings in the distance. The slight breeze ruffles her dark hair a bit and she has her thin arms wrapped around herself, wearing her beloved Denver Elite Gymnastics jacket. With the lighting and the expression on her face, Nicky can't stop himself from admiring how beautiful she looks, but also how sad.

It's just the two of them standing here, not touching, not talking. She won't even acknowledge him being at her side as if he isn't even there.

It isn't the first time he's seen her like this. Kelly has shut down in the past, most notable are the times her parents made her promises they never intended to keep and losing her national title to Payson Keeler. All of those time, Nicky would wrap her tiny body up in his arms and he'd hold her. He'd hold her in a silent promise that, sure, the world might disappoint her and leave her behind, but never him. Hugging inevitably turned to other effectively distracting and pleasant things that aren't possible now. Not with Kaylie in the picture.

Nicky hates this. He hates not knowing what to do, not knowing how to act around her or even where they stand. He especially hates knowing that he's the sole cause for all of this. He did this to their friendship and it's too late to take it all back.

"So do you hate me?" Nicky asks.

Kelly doesn't look at him. She doesn't even react. Nothing changes on her face. Not even the slightest indication that she heard him at all. Nicky grinds his shoes into the dirt and finally fully turns his head to her. Kelly is completely still. She looks exactly how she did when he'd been watching her earlier. She makes him feel invisible and it makes him furious. Lauren Tanner, Shane Oman and all those other jerks back in Boulder. He expects it from them, but not her. Not his best friend.

"Kelly, don't be like this," he begs. Nicky squints his eyes, hoping that will reveal some detail about her unmoved face and detached stare. He doesn't even blink as if continuously watching her would give him answers about how to break this veil between them because Nicky has no goddamn clue. "Don't ignore me."

"I think you're stupid."

She still won't look at him and her face is void of emotion, but it's a start. He got four words out of her and it isn't nearly as insulting as it could have been.

Nicky laughs gently. "That doesn't answer my question."

Trying to be as subtle as possible, he shifts closer and Kelly continues to be unaffected.

"You know I'm not choosing her over you, right?"

Once he says that, nine measly words, strung together like he's trying to read her mind and predict the unpredictable, something changes in her expression. Finally, Kelly looks back at him and with her tense, overbearing gaze, Nicky almost wishes she were still a statue. He feels his heart pumping so fast and so hard he thinks it might literally split open. As if this situation couldn't get any messier.

"But if I made you choose between me and Kaylie Cruz, it'd still be her, right?"

Nicky feels something twist in his gut and it nearly physically cripples him. She's staring now, demanding an answer that he doesn't want to give. With the way she's eyeing him, Nicky imagines that if looks could kill, he'd be dead on the ground and Kelly would be waking up Faith, figuring out what to do with his body. He gets a feeling Faith would be scarily knowledgeable in that department.

"Nick," Kelly barks. "Don't ignore me."

Using his words against him. She always did have to take the most twisted route.

"I don't know what to tell you," Nicky says. "I say yes and you're going to make a big deal out of it. I say no then you'll demand I break up with Kaylie, which isn't happening. There's no winning, Parks. There never is with you so why even bother doing all of this?"

Kelly purses her glossy lips and airily replies, "That doesn't answer my question."

Nicky growls, fisting his dark hair in his hands, having to hold on to something because he feels he's losing grips on everything. He honestly doesn't know how she does it, how he can feel bad for her one second and the next he's ready to strangle her. Nicky watches as Kelly sits on the hood of the car, immobile and cold. Her eyes are back on the city. The sun has completely disappeared now, leaving the sky, thick with clouds, a dark blue color transitioning to black.

Catching his breath and mentally telling himself to calm down, Nicky slumps back against the car. He shoves his hands into his pockets and looks at Kelly, ready for Round Two.

"Why don't you want me to be happy?" he asks. His words seep frustration and his expression begs her to let him in. Always with Kelly, Nicky is afraid of what he might find if she does open up, but now he finds himself desperate for her to.

A few tense seconds pass without further action on either side. Sighing, Nicky stands straight, ready to give up when Kelly turns to him, lips slightly parted and eyes glistening with water. Now she doesn't just look sad, but so vulnerable and still as beautiful as ever.

"That's not the right question," Kelly says.

"Alright. Then tell me. What is?"

"How," Kelly murmurs. "Everyone keeps asking me why. You. Faith. Your girlfriend. Even Keeler has it in her eyes. It's not that I don't want you to be happy, idiot. I don't know _how_. How am I supposed to be happy for you when I have to sit here and know I wasn't enough? That you're trying to be happy without me. I'm open for suggestions because I don't have a fucking clue."

Nicky is floored. He has no response to that. No quick fix. No fix at all.

Kelly has _you broke my heart, you asshole_ written all across her shattered face. She lifts the veil just long enough for him to see her and the pain she harbors, long enough for him to _feel it_, and then just like that it's back in place between them, dividing childhood friends, young lovers, and making them nothing but strangers to each other.

"This is dumb. Don't talk to me," Kelly says. She slides off the hood of the car and rounds the side. Nicky remains rooted in the same spot. He fears that if he tries to move, his legs won't work and he might fall apart. "Faith! Faith, wake up! The only reason we even came out here was so you could see your stupid sunset and you fell asleep! Get up! I want to leave!"

Kelly yanks on the car door handle, but it won't open. She tries the door to the back, but that's locked too. Growing irritable, the brunette starts pounding her fists against the window that's opened just marginally, not even enough for her to stick her hand through. She glares through the window to where Faith is sprawled out across the backseat, asleep.

"It's no use. She has headphones on. You know Faye. She can sleep through a stampede," Nicky says, rounding the other side of the car and looking in through the back window. When Kelly starts repeatedly kicking the tire, Nicky sees Faith's eyes open for a split second before closing again. Staring at her, Nicky racks his knuckles against the glass. "Faye! You awake?"

Faith doesn't move and a perplexed expression takes over Nicky's face.

"Nick, can you be useful for once and just unlock the doors already?" Kelly shouts. "What's stupid is standing out here in the dark. I want to leave. _Now_."

"I…left the keys in the car," Nicky replies sheepishly.

"Fine. Then I'll just walk home." Just like that, Kelly turns right around and heads for the main road. At first he wants to laugh, thinking she's joking, but when he looks over, all Nicky sees is the back of her head getting farther and farther away.

"Parks, where do you think you're going?" Nicky shouts after her. Bouncing anxiously on the tips of his feet, Nicky doesn't know what to do. He has never been good at this sort of thing. He _always_ watches the girl walk away.

Kelly goes back to ignoring everything other than what will grant her what she wants. Each step she takes is resolute to the point where she's stomping or even marching rather than casually walking. She moves further and further into the dark. By the looks of things, she has no intention to come back.

"Coast clear?" a whisper comes from the car.

Looking through the window, Nicky sees Faith with one eye open and the other closed. He looks between the two girls as he replies, "Yeah. She thinks she's going to walk home. I saw you, by the way. I know you weren't asleep."

"Yeah, well, if I let you in then we're just going to drive home in awkward silence. From what I gathered, your sweet little video chat sesh idea totally backfired and you still haven't talked things out, like, for real," Faith explains. "You know, I still find it weird that she even got into the car with us and didn't just take a cab home from the airport."

"Cab drivers freak her out, remember?" Nicky automatically says. "I blame you for that one Sunday we watched Law and Order: SUV for ten hours straight."

"Well, that's a plus. On a list of people she trusts, you're at least above sex offenders who drive taxi cabs," Faith says, trying to make light of the situation like she always does.

"Faith, what am I supposed to do?"

"No clue," Faith says weakly, sitting back with a frown. "I'd tie you both to chairs facing each other and Doctor Phil you like they do in the movies, but I promised her I'd stay out of it i.e. pretending to be asleep."

"But you're the one who always fixes things between us," Nicky says desperately. He leans his forehead against the window, prying at the glass with his fingertips. "Why can't you do it this time?"

"Because I kinda get what she's feeling right now. I know what it's like to think you're in love with a guy and everything just goes wrong," Faith replies. Nicky looks away with such a pained expression on his face. He still doesn't want to own up to it—that he broke her heart.

"How many times do I have to say I didn't—"

"Nicky, don't," Faith says, cutting him off. "Dude, it's way too late to play stupid."

"Okay, so I guess on some unconscious level I did know that she had feelings for me, but…I didn't think things would get all messed up like this. If I did then I wouldn't have let things with Kelly get as far as it did."

"Nicky! Man, you're the stupidest person on the planet," Faith sneers. The words sting, especially because his IQ suggests the exact opposite, but he's really starting to feel that way. "Don't you dare say that to Kelly! Whatever you guys had together _it meant something to her_ and you want to tell her you'd take it all back? Are you _trying_ to hurt her?"

"I don't know what I'm trying to do." Nicky groans, lightly banging his forehead against the window. "I just want it all to go away. I want things to go back to the way it used to be."

"Well, that isn't an option anymore, Nix. I don't know what to tell you because this situation is a whole other level of fucked up. Just…for now…you should probably go bring her back before a bear eats her or something. You know you're the only one that can."

"I'm not so sure anymore, Faye."

"But you're going to try," Faith prompts. "Just don't say any more stupid things and _try_. Because, from where I'm sitting, you aren't winning this one and that breaks my heart, Smarty."

Sighing heavily, Nicky grinds his teeth together, seeing Faith jut her chin towards him in encouragement. He then sprints in Kelly's direction, leaving Faith to hang back in the car and hope for the best. With no streetlights out on the road, it really is dangerous. A car passes and its headlights momentarily light his path, but then it moves on and Nicky has nothing, but the minimal light from the sky to guide him. After almost tripping three times, Nicky finally catches up to a petite, dark figure that has to be Kelly.

"Kelly!" he shouts. "Kelly, wait up!"

When she ignores him, Nicky speeds up, using his last burst of energy to run up to her and grab her firmly by the arm. Kelly resists, which is as to be expected, but Nicky refuses to let her go. Not here in the middle of nowhere. Not now when there's so much turmoil between them and so much that needs to be said.

"What do you want?" Kelly yells right in his face.

"I want things to be…what would Faith say? All g again?"

Realizing how hard he's gripping her arm, Nicky lets her go and he holds his breath to see how she'll react. Instead of continuing on her trek down the mountain, Kelly stands in front of him with her arms crossed low, resting against her flat abdomen. She glares and Nicky fully accepts it. Mostly because he knows he deserves it.

"God, don't try to use slang. Ever."

"Only if you promise not to run off," he says.

Kelly doesn't reply and Nicky doesn't persist. His eyes adjust and he can make out the details of her face. He can see trails down her cheeks of what once were tears and he wants to beg her not to cry over him, but he knows pointing out that Kelly Parker is crying over _him_ will only make things worse.

Nicky unconsciously takes a step closer to her and raises his hand to her face, hoping to wipe away the evidence, but Kelly doesn't let him. She quickly pulls away. She won't even let him touch her anymore, not even for something as innocent as that. He never knew he'd miss something that comes so naturally to him. To them.

"Look, I know I messed up. I lied and I hurt you and I'm sorry, but, Parks, we're best friends. We can still be best friends. You know things don't have to change, right?" Nicky says. He's in such a panicked state, knowing he's losing her and not knowing what to do about it. "I mean, of course they need to change, but not everything…"

"Wake up, Nick," Kelly hisses. "Everything already changed."

"Why?" Nicky shouts. He isn't stupid or oblivious. He knows what she's saying is true, but he doesn't want to believe it. At least, he isn't ready to. Not now. Not yet. "Why does dating Kaylie have to mean that we can't still be friends?"

"Because it does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

Right when Nicky is sure that Kelly is about to storm off again, she surprises him. Kelly stomps forward and gets in his face, so aggressive, like she might actually hit him. He almost falls back where it's safer, where he isn't so intimidated, where he isn't tempted, but he doesn't. He stands strong and ignores the way they're almost touching, but not.

"What happens on Thanksgiving when Faith is with her dad and Kaylie Cruz thinks she's doing her poor, neglected boyfriend a favor by invites him over for dinner? And, wow, big shocker, you won't be able to say no. Where does that leave me?" she screams. She breaks. "Or Christmas. New Years. I'll tell you. I'll be in my house. _Alone_. Girlfriend always trumps best friend and I don't want to fight for you when I know you'll drop me for her in a second."

Nicky never thought of that when he was standing in that kitchen in Barcelona, wearing a fancy suit and giving his heart to Kaylie Cruz. He knew that his actions would have consequences he'd have to brave once returning home, but he could have never imagined this. Putting Kelly into this situation. Seeing her like this. Feeling the way he does now. He hates it and hates himself.

Kelly starts walking again like she really is going to walk the entire way home and seeing how heated she is, she might just have the adrenalin to.

"Kelly Parker, I love you."

God help him because he does. He does and he said it and there's no taking it back now. He's too scared to see how she'll react and how he'll react to her reaction. He's scared that he's too late, that he waited too long and she isn't waiting anymore. Most of all he's too scared to think about how he doesn't feel guilty about telling Kelly Parker he loves her when his girlfriend is less than an hour away. He knows he should, but he doesn't.

Kelly comes to a halt and Nicky almost feels hopeful, but it's short-lived.

"Cute," Kelly hisses sarcastically from over her shoulder. "Someone has certainly reached a new low. Either you really are a social retard or you're seriously desperate."

"So what if I am?" Nicky says. "I don't want to lose you, Parks."

"Yeah, but you don't want me either."

"Of course I do," Nicky agues. He feels his frustration getting the best of him as he continues to follow right after her. "Parks, forget Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can't even imagine tomorrow without—"

"Okay, I'm going to Kanye you right now even though I know for a fact you aren't going to catch the refer," she says firmly. "I know you have a dozen sweet clichés you're about to spit out so I'm just going to stop you. Frankly, I really don't want to hear it, Nick. Save it for Kaylie. Girls like her eat up bullshit like that. You should have a nice, long relationship."

"Kelly, you aren't listening."

"Well, that's just too bad. Not like you're saying anything I want to hear."

"Are you serious right now?" Nicky scoffs. "I just told you _I love you_!"

"Well, I don't believe it!"

Nicky stops right there. Dead in his tracks.

Once the devastation passes, he feels the void, the same one that haunts them all,, the void that Kelly once filled and he thinks Kaylie now will (at least he hopes). Nicky feels it curling in his gut and he does what he can—he fills that void inside with anger. With long strides and narrowed eyes, Nicky yanks on her arm hard enough to make Kelly wince. He slides his hand up her arm and holds her in place so that their tattoos are side-by-side—the bracelet that wraps around his wrist and the fancy font on the inside of hers.

"You see that?" he asks heatedly.

"No. It's kinda fucking dark," Kelly snidely replies.

"Don't be such a smartass, Parks."

"Nick, I'm not dense," she spits back. "I know what my own tattoo looks like…which I already scheduled to be removed. Not that you care or anything."

"Why are you being like this?" he asks weakly. "Are you really punishing me because I like Kaylie Cruz? Because if that's the case then you've reached a new low too. If I could, Parks, I'd undo the entire summer. Forget that Kaylie makes me happy. I'd take it all back if it means we can nix this conversation and things can finally be back to the way it used to be. Is that what you want to hear? I've said everything else I could possibly think of so that's it, right?"

Kelly doesn't say anything and Nicky sighs, loosening his grip.

"I'm sorry," Nicky says. "I know you're pissed and disappointed, but you know I would never do that to you intentionally. I do love you and it literally kills me to hear you don't believe that."

"I don't."

Nicky feels his frustration mounting. "Why not?"

"Because if you love me like you say you do, you'd never make me feel like this," she whispers. "People don't hurt the people they love and, guess what, that's exactly what you did."

Nicky rubs his tired eyes and grumbles, "I don't know what you want from me."

"I want my bestie back! Is that so much to fucking ask for? I want you to be mine again," she cries, actually cries and the sounds alone make Nicky's eyes start to water. "You made me a fucking promise, Nick! You promised!"

Nicky knows that he's just asking to get punched in the face, but he doesn't know what else to do. He reaches forward and ignores the way she shakes her head hard and tries to push him away. Despite the way she fights him, beating her fists against his chest, Nicky hugs her. He tucks her head beneath his chin and he holds her tight, feeling her body shake with each sob she tries to suppress.

He did make her that promise that day in the diner, the day they were supposed to leave Boulder and everyone in it behind. He told her that she was his best friend, that nothing and no one could ruin that. Though he never could have anticipated everything that happened over the coarse of the last two months, the truth remains that they can never go back to being those best friends sitting in that diner.

"I know," he murmurs soothingly, holding her tight. "I know…"

When he feels her let go and relax with her face pressed to his chest, tears soaked into his shirt, this is the part of their vicious cycle where, prior to his summer in Barcelona, Nicky would tilt her chin, look into her eyes and kiss her. It had always been a pattern with them. They'd fight and argue and destroy everything around them, but all it would take is a single kiss to remind them why they could never completely leave each other pre-Kaylie. The connection. The trust. The codependency. The love.

Nicky sees how emotionally exposed she is and he knows how easy it would be to bring his lips to hers and fall back into that twisted, comfortable world of theirs. To send Kaylie a text message, telling her that he's sorry and it isn't her fault that he is indeed wrapped around Kelly Parker's finger. He could, but he won't. He can't. That aspect of his friendship with Kelly, as pivotal, needs to die. It dies tonight.

His eyes say it all and suddenly Kelly laughs, stepping away from him.

"I knew it," Kelly says. "I always knew I was stupid to think it'd last forever. Did you know that whenever we'd hang out I'd tell myself to end it? I knew you'd eventually get bored or some perfect, non-bitchy non-insane girl would come along and make you love her. So I figured, end it before we get to that point, but then you'd look at me _like that_ and you'd hold me like you actually gave a damn. Now, I hate myself for being stupid enough to think it meant more to you when it obviously didn't."

"Kelly, of course it meant something to me." Nicky's voice rises with each word to make her hear it, to make her _feel_ it.

"What did it mean?" Kelly shouts. Nicky looks down at his shoes because he doesn't have an answer for her. He doesn't know. "See. You just lied to me. It didn't mean anything then and it can't mean anything now. It's dead."

"Parks, I'm sorry."

"That's just a word you keep saying. That doesn't mean anything either."

The two stand in silence for so long, losing all sense of time and place. This is it. Another defining moment that's going to make or break them. A conclusion needs to be drawn and they can't leave this mountain until one of them steps up and makes it final. _Makes it real._

"I need space," Kelly finally says. "I need to be alone right now. I guess I should be used to it, right? Being alone. I need you to give my shit back and then stop trying to talk to me. Don't text or call me. Don't come around my house. Don't try to fix things. Don't worry about me because I'll be just fine all on my own."

"Kelly…"

"Wait, I'm not done!" she snaps. "You and me, and even Faith, that was the best thing I had in my life and now it's gone so I really do hope Kaylie's worth everything you threw away, Nicky."

_Nicky_.

He feels his knees wobble and his eyes glaze. Did he hear her right? She called him _Nicky_.

"I don't want things to be like this," Nicky says. He needs her to hear it. To know.

"Well, that's life," Kelly says coldly. "You can't have it all. You were stupid to think you could."

Her voice is nothing but a hushed whisper towards the end. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, warding off the tears before they can start.

"You're right," Nicky says. His throat is tight. Breathing isn't easy. Actually, he's convinced he isn't breathing at all. "But this, giving you space, it isn't permanent, right?"

Kelly doesn't answer him. She just starts walking again, but this time up towards the lookout where Faith is waiting. Nicky stands there a moment, desperately clinging to the fragments of his broken heart. All he manages to do is watch her from behind, wishing he could make everything right again. It's hard considering he doesn't even know what right is.

Halfway back to the car, Nicky catches up to Kelly and boldly takes her hand in his, gently threading his fingers through hers. And he knows he shouldn't, that he should think of Kaylie or respect Kelly's space, but he decides if she's going to be selfish like this then he has the right to be too. She tries to pull away, but Nicky keeps his fingers firmly laced with her.

"Did you not hear anything I just said? What do you think you're doing?" she asks angrily.

"I listened to that song about a million times," he nervously tells her. Kelly stops trying to pry their fingers apart and Nicky moves so that he's standing in front of her. "The one you sang to me…via video chat."

"And?"

"It made me think." Nicky looks down, not knowing how to phrase it or how she's going to take it. With how many times Kelly Parker actually admitted to being hurt in the last hour and how much time Nicky has spent in denial, he thinks he owes her this one last bit of honesty. "What we had…it was delicate and we should have treated it that way. The truth is…I never thought I'd be enough for you…"

"Oh please."

"Wait," Nicky says firmly. His dark eyes burn straight into hers. Kelly presses her lips tightly together and returns his stare. "I was just your loser best friend and you were, _are_ Kelly Fucking Parker. You're so intense and it's always been something I could never match. I knew I'd never be enough for you and that's why I took what I could get while you'd let me and I never stopped to consider that more was even a possibility."

Kelly looks away for a moment and it's dark, but Nicky sees the way her expression softens and he feels the way she grips his hand like she's afraid to let go. Nicky wants to think that despite the pain acting as glue, keeping her broken heart somewhat intact, Kelly is starting to understand that this isn't easy for him either. Nicky doesn't know how he'll take it if she gives him this hope just to rip it away.

"I never needed someone to match me," Kelly says. Her voice is weak and just the low sound of it makes Nicky anxious. "If anything, I needed someone to balance out all of my crazy and that's what you did. That's why we were so good together."

"I can still be that for you," he whispers. Nicky knows it's a last-ditch effort, but he has to try.

"See. These mixed signals are fucking with my head! You need to stop because it's _killing_ me. That's why I can't be around you anymore. So, no, you can't still be that for me…you aren't mine anymore."

"But I was," Nicky is quick to say, "Don't doubt that."

"Stop doing that. I mean it. Nicky, I can't take it anymore." There's no spite in her voice, just truth, but it hardly softens the blow of her calling him _Nicky again_. It surprises him when she starts walking again, but she doesn't let go of his hand. A part of him is happy when she doesn't pull away. Most of him is scared to death because he knows he isn't making grounds. It's her giving him one last silent goodbye.

Nicky doesn't know what to do. A part of him wants her, aches for her in the same way that she has always for him, but then there's Kaylie. He likes Kaylie very much. She's sweet and less guarded and she doesn't have the power to break him in the same way Kelly does and always has whether she realizes it or not.

If he were to try to made things work with Kelly, to give his heart to her completely, there's no telling how that would play out. She's intense and possessive, but also flighty and careless. She makes decisions on the fly. If she can walk away from their friendship like this, who's to say she wouldn't do the same if their relationship were to go bad? If she can make him hurt this much by doing this, she would destroy him if they took it further and she decided she didn't want him anymore.

But there's that part of him, the same part that aches for her with an intensity all its own, that's willing to try. To wake up to her and be able to murmur a, "God, my _girlfriend_ looks great in the morning" and make her smile in that way that makes him knows that they're too close and she's equally parts happy and terrified. She's right. They always were good together. So, if they really did get together?

No. He can't think like that. He's happy with Kaylie and he doesn't want to hurt her. He can't. After everything they went through over the summer, Nicky isn't about to just abandon her. Plus, this is how relationships are supposed to start. Him and Kaylie followed the formula for a perfect romantic comedy. It's logical and Nicky has based his entire life on logic. This is how things are meant to be, he's sure.

Now here they are, both accepting the devastating fact that what they feel for each other can never be pursued. Nicky has Kaylie and Kelly has her pride. Their world that they forged out of nothing, that existed with only the two of them in it (and occasionally Faith), will collapse along with the death of the three musketeers. Kelly will go back to Denver Elite and Nicky will be with Kaylie. The death of friendship. Like a star going out in the sky. A blackout in a city that thrives on light. A welcoming party for the void.

In these last few seconds, their friendship's dying breath, Nicky and Kelly are in the dark, taking agonizingly slow steps back towards the car and Faith. They take unwilling yet necessary steps back to the reality they no longer share, hand-in-hand, both imagining what can and can never be.

…

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**Author's note**: We love Nickelly. If you know us at all you can tell we adore Nickelly's twisted friendship love. It's our out-of-canon OTP for sure, but this was necessary for the progression of the story. We fought and played devil's advocate and put off the ending for so long, but this was how we decided it had to be. Tragic, we know…but there are seldom happy endings in life, just things we go through, some we enjoy and others not. Also, remember, just because it ends here doesn't mean their story's over.

More or less depressing than the last extra? _Review_.


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